By Saurav Mehra India’s Best Dramebaaz is an Indian children’s acting reality television show that gave young performers a platform to display acting, expression, dialogue delivery, improvisation and stage confidence. Unlike singing and dancing competitions, the programme focused mainly on acting talent and tested how naturally children could perform different characters, scenes and emotions.
The show premiered on 23 February 2013 on Zee TV. Children from different parts of India participated after auditions and selection rounds, and the finalists competed through acting-based performances and themed challenges. Three seasons of India’s Best Dramebaaz have been completed, with Aditya Singhal, Swasti Nitya and Dipali Borkar becoming the winners of Seasons 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
List of India’s Best Dramebaaz Winners
| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Host |
| Season 1 | 2013 | Aditya Singhal | Nihaar Gite | Rithvik Dhanjani & Ragini Khanna |
| Season 2 | 2015–16 | Swasti Nitya | Kartikey Malviya | Rithvik Dhanjani & Ravi Dubey |
| Season 3 | 2018 | Dipali Borkar | Anish Railkar | Shantanu Maheshwari & Vighnesh Pande |
India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 1 Winner – Aditya Singhal
The first season of India’s Best Dramebaaz premiered on 23 February 2013. Rithvik Dhanjani and Ragini Khanna hosted the show, while Vivek Oberoi, Sonali Bendre and filmmaker Anurag Basu formed the judging panel.
Aditya Singhal from Pune emerged as the winner of the inaugural season. Nihaar Gite finished in second place, while Praneet Sharma secured the next position among the finalists. Aditya impressed the judges through his confidence, spontaneity and ability to perform different kinds of scenes during the competition.
The grand finale aired on 25 May 2013. Aditya received the Golden Keeda trophy and became the first winner in the history of India’s Best Dramebaaz. The first season established the programme as a dedicated national platform for young acting talent.
India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 2 Winner – Swasti Nitya
India’s Best Dramebaaz returned for its second season on 12 December 2015. Rithvik Dhanjani continued as a host and was joined by Ravi Dubey. Vivek Oberoi and Sonali Bendre returned to the judging panel, while Sajid Khan joined them as the third judge.
Swasti Nitya emerged as the winner of Season 2. Kartikey Malviya finished as the first runner-up. Other children who reached the later stages included Vansh Maheshwari, Parth Mehta, Tamanna Dipak and Jaskaran Narula.
The season concluded in March 2016. Swasti, who came from Bihar, was recognised for her expressive performances and strong stage presence. Her victory made her the second winner of the series and the first girl to win India’s Best Dramebaaz.
India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 3 Winner – Dipali Borkar
The third season premiered on 30 June 2018. Shantanu Maheshwari and Vighnesh Pande hosted the programme. Vivek Oberoi returned as a judge and was joined by Huma Qureshi and art director-filmmaker Omung Kumar.
Dipali Borkar from Pune won India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 3. Anish Railkar finished as the first runner-up, while Harsh Raj Lucky secured the next position. Other finalists included RS Shrisa, Angelika Piplani and Inayat Verma.
The grand finale was held on 7 October 2018. Dipali received the Golden Keeda trophy along with prize money of ₹5 lakh. Anish Railkar received the Silver Keeda trophy and ₹3 lakh, while Harsh Raj Lucky received the Bronze Keeda trophy and ₹2 lakh. Dipali’s victory made her the third champion of the show.
India’s Best Dramebaaz Judges Over the Years
The judging panel changed across the three seasons, although Vivek Oberoi remained associated with the show throughout its run. He judged all three completed seasons.
Season 1 featured Vivek Oberoi, Sonali Bendre and Anurag Basu. Season 2 retained Vivek Oberoi and Sonali Bendre, while Sajid Khan joined the panel. Season 3 brought together Vivek Oberoi, Huma Qureshi and Omung Kumar.
The judges evaluated children on acting ability, expressions, timing, dialogue delivery, confidence and their ability to adapt to different characters. They also mentored participants and offered feedback designed to improve their performances.
India’s Best Dramebaaz Hosts Over the Years
Rithvik Dhanjani was closely associated with the first two seasons of India’s Best Dramebaaz. He hosted Season 1 with Ragini Khanna and returned for Season 2 alongside Ravi Dubey.
Season 3 introduced a new hosting combination, with Shantanu Maheshwari and Vighnesh Pande presenting the programme. The hosts connected the performances, interacted with contestants and judges, and added humour and entertainment between the competitive segments.
India’s Best Dramebaaz Format
India’s Best Dramebaaz was designed as an acting talent hunt for children. Participants were selected through auditions and then performed in front of the judges in different acting situations. The programme tested more than memorised dialogue delivery; contestants had to show spontaneity, emotional range, comic timing, confidence and the ability to respond to changing situations.
Performances included dramatic scenes, comedy, character-based acts, improvisation and themed presentations. As the competition progressed, contestants faced eliminations until a smaller group reached the finale. The show also invited film and television personalities as guests during different episodes.
The central idea of the programme was to identify children with natural acting ability and give them experience performing before a national television audience. Several contestants later continued appearing in television, films, advertisements or other reality programmes.
Final Words
India’s Best Dramebaaz completed three seasons and produced three young champions. Aditya Singhal became the inaugural winner in 2013, Swasti Nitya won Season 2 in 2016, and Dipali Borkar lifted the Season 3 trophy in 2018.
Each season used acting challenges rather than singing or dancing as its main competition format, which gave the programme a distinct place among Indian children’s reality shows. As of 2026, Season 3 remains the latest completed season and Dipali Borkar remains the most recent India’s Best Dramebaaz winner.